Pea soup is a familiar first course, especially suitable for the cold season. Why exactly for the cold? It’s my personal associations, somehow it doesn’t pull me to taste it in the heat, but in winter and autumn, and even after a long stay in the fresh air, I simply can’t refuse a plate of hot aromatic and rich pea soup (as well as everything my household). Therefore, I believe that it is right to cook pea soup on bad and frosty days, although many of my relatives and friends are happy to cook it in the heat - there are no friends to taste and color, as they say.
So, let's begin. How to cook pea soup, many know, because it is a traditional dish for our cuisine. However, there are points to which special attention should be paid to make the soup a success. Firstly, the right pea soup must be cooked on a broth, and pork or beef ribs are best suited as meat. The option with chicken broth is also quite acceptable, but lean pea soup ... I don’t know, he probably has admirers, but in my opinion this is not quite what you need.
How to cook pea soup: you need to take one and a half glasses of peas, sort it out and rinse thoroughly, add water so that it completely covers it, and leave for several hours (it is most convenient to do this in the evening, soaking peas all night). After the peas swell, it must be poured into the already prepared broth and cook for about an hour. In principle, cooking time is not too limited and depends on the variety of peas and on the preferences of eaters: if you need whole peas in the soup, you need to turn off the fire earlier and vice versa, if you want the soup to look like pea porridge (or for making mashed soup) then boil the peas for longer. Any meat is suitable for the broth, as already mentioned, but if possible, it is better to cook it on the ribs. Bay leaf, various spices and salt should be added to the broth. Speaking about how to cook pea soup, it should be mentioned that when boiling peas, foam appears on the surface of the broth, which must be removed with a slotted spoon or a regular spoon.
While peas are cooked, you need to take carrots and a couple of onions, chop finely (grate the carrots on a coarse grater) and fry in vegetable oil. You also need to peel and dice 6-7 potatoes. When the peas are almost split, you should add potatoes and carrots with onions to the broth, and add salt if necessary. In about 15 minutes the pea soup is ready! 2-3 minutes before switching off, chopped greens (any: parsley, dill, green onions) can be added to the soup. If you wish, you can beat the resulting dish with a blender, and then you will get a wonderful pea soup puree (in this case, it is better to put a little more peas in order to achieve the desired density).
From all that has been said, it is not at all difficult to cook pea soup, and the result will invariably arouse appetite. Interestingly, the classic recipe for pea soup does not include potatoes, but it can be cooked on smoked pork ribs. Generally speaking, on the topic of how to cook pea soup, one cannot fail to mention that this dish is very “fond of” smoked meats. For taste and aroma, you can add a little chopped bacon (it is best to fry it with onions and carrots). Serving soup on the table, you can put croutons (crackers) from white or black bread on a separate dish, and even better cut them and put each into a plate. It turns out very tasty and unusual, only you need to eat soup quickly so that crackers do not have time to completely soak.
Speaking about how to cook pea soup, it must be said about the unknown for many points. For example, to make the peas cook faster, you can add a little baking soda to the broth during cooking (on the tip of the knife). Although, of course, it is much better to just soak it in advance so as not to add dubious ingredients to the soup.
Bon Appetit everyone!